EUROPEAN MIGRANT CRISIS 51
mesosystem, such as neighbours and the rituals of living in their own culture.
Furthermore, a significant risk factor for PTSD was cumulative negative experiences
prior to migration, in particular after witnessing the violent death of a loved one,
injury to themselves or separation from parents (Geltman et al in Bronstein and
Montgomery 2010: 44-56). This echoes the finding by Horan and Widom (2014) that
there is a linear relationship between the number of childhood risk factors
experienced and negative outcomes as an adult such as anxiety, depression and
arrests. Parents are usually able to act as a buffer for children and moderate the
damage of emotional distress as well as addressing physical needs. Where this
protection is not present, the biological resources for proximal processes are not
sufficient and will lead to dysfunctional developmental outcomes. Disadvantaged
environments tend to lead to worse outcomes compared to organised ones, which
often result in emotional and psychological competence. Because proximal processes
have more of an impact in poorer situations they are likely to lead to more detrimental
outcomes in chaotic environments (Bronfenbrenner and Morris 2006: 795-825).
However, a study by Rutter et al (2007: 332-350) on the adoption of Romanian
infants from institutions into the UK showed that it is possible to recover from the
impact of harsh environments, especially if the exposure is short term. By age six
children had caught up to their peers in both height and weight and significantly
improved on IQ scores. The latter were more permanently affected by
malnourishment and lack of social interaction than physical attributes. Most
strikingly, the most common predictor of sustained developmental outcomes was the
length of time the child was in the institution, with those in attendance for under six
months displaying huge long-term improvements. Evidently, it is beneficial to remove
and resettle children from warzones as soon as possible and provide enough time to
recover. The immense potential for children to recover from trauma is critical when
deciding to offer asylum to refugees and demonstrates that the UK should be doing
more to accommodate this movement.